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Okay okay I know it's been a really long time since I've written. I've found it a bit difficult to document my day using this format; I'm more used to just offering little quips and observations to my friends as they happen. I'm slightly more detail oriented rather than big picture focused. By now I have been to all of my classes more than once and I think I can make a fair judgement when I say that they are all except one are not necessarily...academically oriented. I think this may be because the professors know that these specific courses are for study abroad students who are perceived as not really interested in the educational aspect of study abroad but rather the exploration part. But...I love....learning....I'm taking a lot of Korean media and the arts courses, and so naturally kpop and kdramas are major elements of these subjects, yet it often feels like they are the only topics. Or at least the only topics that people feel are worth exploring, but not even in a educational way, more in a 'hey I recognize and love this and I want to spend my class time looking at it in appreciation but without having to think critically' kind of way. It is truly amazing how extensive and nuanced of a history kpop /has/ and how that more than frequently gets overlooked. For me, this is very frustrating and honestly makes me appreciate the dialogue and discourses available at Mount Holyoke so much more. I can't tell if it's because everyone around me is on study abroad and so their brains are turned off, or if MHC just molds a certain type of thinker...an uncommon woman....if you will.....omg. But despite this, I'm still hoping to get the most out of the classes I'm taking!! Even though one of my professors literally said her class was not going to be very academic!! ack!!!!! I think the way ethnicity, race, and the media gets carried out in this cultural setting is so fascinating and am a little disappointed that I don't get to delve into this topic with my classmates. For example, I saw Black Panther at a Korean cinema and my mind was REELING after it ended. Of course, the cultural context of the people of Wakanda and the Korean diaspora are incomparable, but the conversation regarding who gets to be a 'genuine' member of a community was all too familiar. What makes someone an outsider? How can you reconcile diaspora against a post-colonial backdrop?
anyway here are some pictures of mostly food that i've taken!!
uhh until next time,
-mary